Only 2% of Companies Seeking to Hire Liberal-Arts Majors, Poll Finds

Not surprisingly, many more corporate hiring managers are on the lookout for engineering or business majors, according to the survey by Millennial Branding, a research and consulting firm, and Beyond.com, a career advisory website.

According to the poll, 27 percednt of companies are seeking to recruit engineering and computer students, while 18 percent want business majors.

More than one in four companies are seeking to recruit engineering and computer students, while 18 percent want business majors.

The low percentage of companies seeking liberal-arts majors isn’t a shock given the tenor of today’s job market. However, more than four in five human-resource managers cited communication skills as a top trait they’re looking for in job candidates, a skill typically in abundance among liberal-arts majors.

“In the current economy, majoring in liberal arts won’t yield good job prospects, so you have to pair a liberal arts degree with business courses in order to become a more appealing candidate,” said Dan Schawbel, founder of Millennial Branding.

As for getting hired, anyone who has ever blindly sent in a resume to a job board or website should take heart.

According to the survey, 45 percent of companies say they find candidates on job boards. Nearly one in five said they get candidates from their company websites. An additional 17 percent look to employee referrals.

More than seven in 10 HR managers said that referral candidates get high priority when in job searches.

In the brewing debate about the value of a college degree, 73 percent of hiring managers said colleges are only “somewhat preparing” students for the working world.